


Before The End

by Xoxo_1004_Ria



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Multi, Yuri!!! on Ice Week 2017
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 03:43:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9639359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xoxo_1004_Ria/pseuds/Xoxo_1004_Ria
Summary: 5 years ago they fell in love. 5 years ago they fell apart. The forgotten love story of Viktor Nikiforov.





	1. Melancholy And The Rain

It was a cold day in Saint Petersburg. Natalia stood underneath the pouring rain staring blankly at the sky. She had just gotten into another fight with her mother. It was something she was used to. Her mother would point out her lesser qualities and berate her for not being as talented as her other siblings. Natalia would argue back and bring up her passion for the piano but, that would be immediately dismissed by her father Yakov. Neither of her parents appreciated her affinity towards the piano. They much rather preferred that her mindset be focused on either ballet or figure skating; both were highly regarded within her family.   
Her mother Lilia Baranovskaya was the prima ballerina of Russia back in her day. She was now retired and a proud instructor at the prestigious Vaganova Ballet Academy. Her father was Yakov Feltsman, the fiery coach of all the Russian figure skaters who trained at the Ice Palace rink. It was not just her parents who were dignified, her siblings were all talented as well. Her eldest sister Anastasiya followed in her mother's footsteps and was on her way to becoming the next prima ballerina of Russia. The second eldest was her sister Diana, who was a three time grand prix gold medalist in the women's division. The last was her younger brother Peter, who was another great ballerina and now Russia’s favorite male model. Her siblings had all followed in their parents footsteps to continue distinguishing the family name.   
From a young age Natalia was trained in both ballet and figure skating and she of course became quite good at both. But, neither of the two truly captured her interest. Instead she was much more fascinated by the beautiful instrument that rested in her family living room. Her uncle would come over every Wednesday and Thursday after school and give her lessons. She quickly became familiar with the instrument and her skill rapidly increased.   
At first her parents supported her learning the piano. It was a skill all their children had. However, their attitude towards it changed as soon as Natalia began devoting more time towards it. Natalia would skip her ballet and figure skating lessons to come and play the piano. She would often stay up late into the night composing several pieces of her own or learning how to play other string instruments. Her passion towards music just kept growing and her parents disliked that.   
Yakov and Lilia were selfish. They wanted all their children to enjoy the same things they did and they were very lucky. Three out of their four children fell in love with ballet and figure skating just as they did. They tried their best to draw Natalia away from music. They went as far as to sell the piano and other instruments they had in their home and forbade her uncle from giving her anymore lessons. But it was not that easy. Natalia was smart. On the way home from school she would stop in an old church and practice using their piano. In turn, she was now skipping their lessons entirely.   
Frustrated, Lilia and Yakov gave into Natalia's demands. They gave her a better instructor and brought a piano back into the home. Their only condition was that Natalia would have to attend her parents training without fail. She reluctantly agreed and soon became overworked. Everyday she would exhaust herself practicing figure skating, ballet and of course her beloved piano. Her parents believed that if they trained her ever so strictly, that she would eventually be too tired and forget the piano, giving into their desires instead.   
Of course, Natalia was aware of this. She used it as her motivation. She continued to excel at everything. She entered several competitions for her piano skills and won many awards. Her parents still refused to acknowledge those moments. However, her brother Peter was an avid supporter of his sister. Listening intently whenever he would watch her play.   
An instructor from a music school in America came and visited his school once. Peter was very excited and brought the man all the way to his home. His sister was playing in the living room and he had the man listen. Natalia did not even notice the man so, she did not even bat an eyelash when he left the room. The man asked Peter to speak with his parents and being the little angel that he is, he quickly ran off and brought them to the man.   
Natalia’s hands stopped over the black and white keys. She had heard the sobs of her mother. She quickly stood up and walked into the room where the american man, her brother and parents were. It was an odd sight. Peter was grinning and her mother was on her knees desperately holding her father's hand. Natalia raised an eyebrow and her brother spoke up.  
“Congratulations, you are going to America!”  
A week later Natalia was attending the Genesis School of Music and Art in Detroit. Those were some of the best years of her life. Although, that was five years ago. She had just recently graduated and had just returned to Russia a few hours back. She was hopeful. Twenty minutes into dinner Anastasiya asked questions about Natalia studies and then her mother got upset. That’s when the whole argument escalated and growing frustrated Natalia ran outside.   
She thought after all this time her parents would have finally understood her and the love she had for music. It was the same love her mother had for ballet and that her father had towards figure skating. It killed her that they could not see nor accept that! She thought that because they sent her away to that music school for five years that they would have finally understood.  
“This is so stupid.” Natalia mumbled to herself, tucking a strand of her now wet brown hair behind her ear.  
“Talia?”   
She spun around at the sound of her brothers gentle voice.  
“Mmm?”  
Peter sighed and tugged his jacket off, throwing it at Natalias face, “Put it on.”  
She caught the jacket before it fell to the floor and threw Peter a look.  
“Had to hit me in the face?”  
“Don’t complain.” He smirked.   
She let out a huff and slipped on her younger brothers jacket.   
“Want to take a walk?”  
“Peter you’ll get sick, you don’t have a jacket now.”  
“Doesn’t matter. Anyways I like the rain.”  
“Fine, but don’t go blaming me if you get sick.”  
“Fair enough.” He replied and poked her hard in the cheek.   
She narrowed her eyes and went to poke him back but, he dodged it. She went for it again and this time he took off running.  
“No fair!” She shouted.  
“Life is not fair!”   
She laughed to herself and ran off after him.   
The two ran all the way to the heart of the Russian city, stopping outside of a small cafe. The strong smell of freshly brewed coffee brought a smile to Natalia’s face and without question she wandered right inside, Peter trailing in behind her. They quickly ordered their drinks and sat down in a corner, happy to be inside the warmth of the cafe.  
“Here are your drinks.” The waitress said placing down the two mugs and walking away.  
Peters emerald eyes bored into the coffee, “you take it black?”  
Natalia nodded and brought the mug to her lip, taking a sip. The thought of taking coffee black made Peter's face scrunch up. He picked up his tea and breathed in, the minty scent much more appealing than his previous coffee thoughts.  
“So how have you been?” Natalia asked.   
“Good I suppose. I have been very busy.”  
Natalia smiled lightly. She had heard from Anastasyia that her brother had just received the male lead in a ballet in Moscow. The pair chatted mindlessly not noticing the minutes that were flying by. They were making up for lost time, telling stories and memories of their accomplishments. There was so much she was not there for but, listening to Peter she could feel herself reliving his tales with him.  
She was surprised by how much he grew up. Peter was sixteen now and had already amassed a career for himself. He was a foot taller than her and had lost all his baby fat. To those around them, it would appear that Natalia was the younger one.   
“How’s dad doing? He wasn’t at dinner and no one mentioned him. Is he okay?”  
Peter gave a reassuring nod, “He is totally fine, just busy.”  
“Busy with what?”  
“Well you know the Russian nationals are coming up soon.”  
Natalia sighed. Of course she knew. Although, her heart did throb at the fact her father did not push practice aside to come and see her.  
“Right.”  
“He has a real protege training under him.”  
She bit her lip, partially losing interest in where the conversation was beginning to go, “Is that so?”  
“He is making a real name for himself. Perhaps you have heard of him? Viktor Nikiforov.”  
“Viktor Nikiforov?”   
Peter's eyes widened and he immediately started fishing through his pockets. Fair enough Natalia did not convey any interest in who her father was training. However, Viktor Nikiforov was becoming a household name. The skater had acquired a mass following for his handsome looks as well as stealing the gold in every competition that he had attended. Peter practically shoved the phone in his sister's face, playing one of his most popular programs.  
Natalia watched the screen intently, her eyes automatically being drawn to the Russian man who slid on the ice. Her mouth opened up in awe. The way he moved his body to the music and kept his routine so perfectly in check was admirable. She could tell the ice was something he truly loved. It was not her first time seeing the program. Back in Detroit she was shown the video by a Japanese skater who was quite infatuated by Viktor. Even if she could not bother to remember his name she could not forget his performance.   
The video ended and Peter looked up at her with expectant eyes.   
“He is good.” She replied to his silent question with a nod.  
Peter grinned. He knew his sister felt so much more towards the performance. But, he also understood why she was so underwhelming about it all. Her whole life she was forced to participate in a sport she really had no fascination towards. It was reasonable why she felt so much resentment towards it all.   
“You should stop by the rink sometime. It is completely different to see it in person.”   
“I’ll think about it.”  
“Fair enough.” Peter laughed.


	2. Bitter Sweet Awakenings

That night the pair of siblings had returned home quite late. Peter was too tired and lazy to walk up to his bedroom, so he passed out on the living room couch. He was not too focused on the fact that his mother would lecture him as soon as she found his so called sleeping place. The brunette casually made her way up the large flight of stairs. The house was silent and dark. It felt peaceful.   
Natalia walked down the hallway occasionally glancing at the pictures and artwork that was hung on the wall. It was strange. She had walked down this very hallway thousands of times but it felt unfamiliar to her now. Maybe it was that the collections of frames on the wall that had grown or perhaps she had simply become accustomed to her gray walls that littered her dorm back in Detroit.   
She effortlessly pushed open her bedroom door and quickly stepped inside. The room had not changed much in five years. Everything was neat and orderly. The only thing that was missing was her pile of dirty clothes in the corner and the lack of her Van Gough imitation posters. She wandered her way into her closet and changed into a pair of sweats. Earlier the family’s wait staff had brought up her neon red suit case and put away all of her clothes. It was something she wanted to do herself. She had gotten used to having to care of herself back in Detroit. However, her mother heavily insisted and partly forced that the staff take care of it.   
Natalia was about ready to throw herself onto her bed when she noticed a package resting on its edge. She tilted her head to the side and took the black box into her thin hands. Within the box laid a beautiful brand new pair of white figure skates and atop of them a letter. She walked over to her desk placing the box upon it. Natalia carried the thin piece of paper with her as she climbed into bed, resting her back against the cool metal headboard. She hastily reached over towards her nightstand and turned on the lamp, knocking over a picture frame in the process. She groaned and quickly fixed the picture frame before scanning the contents of the letter.   
‘My beautiful daughter Natalia,  
I have bought these skates for you.I am sure you have not stepped foot on the ice in a while. I wanted to give them to you in person but,when I came home this evening, your mother had informed me that you and Peter went out. I would like to discuss something with you. Perhaps you could come by the Ice Palace tomorrow. If not I will seek you tomorrow evening. 

Best regards,  
Your Father”  
Natalia smiled to herself, the skates he had given her were truly beautiful. But, they were still materialistic as far as she could tell. They had no special meaning or emotions compared to music. She could not help feeling slightly concerned as well. What on earth did her father want to speak with her about? Perhaps his gift was a last ditch effort to bring her into the skating world and forget piano all together. She shook her head, that could not be it. Unlike her mother, her father was trying his best now to understand her musical passion. Maybe he just wanted her there because he missed her. She sighed and thought to herself ‘Yeah that has to be it’. She placed the letter on her desk and submerged herself fully under the covers sending herself into the deep world of the unconsciousness .   
Natalia rolled over, her heavy eyelids slowly fanning open. She lifted her head slightly, glancing over at the clock that rested on her royal blue walls. It was seven o’clock an hour later than when she would normally wake up. She grumbled, covering her head with her sheets. She had grown accustomed to waking up early in Detroit but, four hours of sleep would take its toll on anyone.   
After fifteen minutes of contemplating and rolling around Natalia finally managed to get drag herself out of bed. She tugged her clothes off, allowing them to fall on her bedroom floor as she made her way to her bathroom. Her bare body trembled slightly at the discomfort of leaving the warm fuzzy carpet for a cold marble floor. She quickly brushed her teeth, took care of some bodily fluids before hoping into the shower. A content sigh escaped her rosy lips and her cheeks became flushed due to the hot steam. Her figure relaxed underneath the hot running water as she gently cleaned her scalp with the orange scented shampoo. She could feel all her worries and stress from the day before disappearing down the drain with the water.   
The white fluffy towel clung to Natalia’s body as she walked over to her fogged up mirror. She carelessly dried her long hair with the blow dryer, focusing the warmth more on her face rather than its intended area. She let the towel drop to the floor and went over to her closet, changing into a warm pair of clothes. Natalia’s nose scrunched up, as her burgundy sweater faintly tickled her neck. She briskly shoved her new ice skates into her bag and ran out of her room, heading down the stairs.  
“Good morning.” Lelia said when her daughter entered the kitchen.   
“Morning.” Natalia swiped an apple from the table before hopping onto the kitchen counter and stealing a bit from the tart fruit.   
Lelia clicked her tongue at the brunettes behavior but, kept to herself. She proceeded to add her variety of fruits and vegetables into her blender before switching the device on. Natalia grimaced at the obnoxious buzzing sound, while; her mother grabbed two glasses from the cupboards. A brief moment later her mother set a glass of the healthy green juice next to her thigh.   
“Drink up, it’s good for you.”  
Natalia muttered a word of thanks and stole a glance around the room. None of her siblings appeared to be present.  
“Where are the others?”  
Lelia’s lifted her head, “Anastasiya is at the academy, Diana is off training and Peter… Well he is off sleeping.” Her emerald eyes sharpened, “Speaking of, where did you drag Peter off to last night? You’re here for less than twenty four hours and now Peter is learning to slack off!”  
Natalia bit her lip, peeking down at her lap to keep herself quiet. A huff escaped the older woman’s lips, “Anyways I hope you don’t plan on sitting around the whole day. Why don't you stop this silly rebellion with your piano skills and take advantage of talent you actually have!”   
Lelia peered at her youngest daughters face seemingly unsatisfied with her lack of response.  
“Not going to reply are you? I am your elder and you must respect––“  
“My apologies, I have somewhere more important to be.”  
Natalia slipped off the counter, tossing the core of her apple into the bin and then sauntered out of the house.


	3. Cold Meetings

The shadow of the Ice Palace towered over Natalia’s small frame. A strange feeling overtook her soul. She expected herself to be overcome with resentment by returning to the prestigious ice rink. Instead, she found herself with a peculiar case of nostalgia. Natalia had unwillingly dedicated much of her life to skating and ballet. However, she could never say that she hated those arts because she did not. The only thing she despised was that her parents shoved her passions aside so that she could pursue theirs. Therefore, it was a surprise that she would willingly allow herself to enter the confines of the renowned ice rink.  
Natalia pushed open the glass doors and swiftly made her way over to the reception desk.   
“Excuse me, miss?”  
The receptionist hesitantly pulled her eyes away from her computer screen and peered up at Natalia with irritation, “Do you need something?”  
The eighteen year old was taken aback by the receptionist’s impolite behavior.  
“Well?” The woman across the counter impatiently questioned.   
Natalia shook her head and regained her composure, “Ah yes, my father Yakov Feltsman requested my presence here today. May I speak with him?”  
The receptionist sent Natalia a dubious look and told her to wait a minute. The woman picked up the phone and called the notorious Russian coach. All the while, Natalia stood there awkwardly, shifting her weight back and forth.   
“Please take a seat. Somebody will come and escort you momentarily.” This time the receptionist spoke to her with a kind smile. It was evident that the sudden change in behavior was due to Natalia’s family connections.   
Natalia quickly thanked the woman and made her way over to the comfortable black couches. She sat down on the couch, crossing her legs as she patiently awaited for her escort. She pulled out her cellphone and started scrolling through her Instagram feed. She smiled at the pictures her friends back in America posted.   
“Are you Natalia?”  
Natalia looked up from her phone and standing there was a young man with light brown hair. She quickly stood up and gave the man a nod, “Yes I am.”  
The man smiled and beckoned her to follow him with this head. The young male lead Natalia through the foyer and down a long hall. It had been quite sometime since the brunette has visited the Ice Palace. She always felt overwhelmed when she she came to train here. The entire place had an air of arrogance and prestige. She still could not tell if it was because the entire place was littered in awards or if it was the unconcealed confidence that the skaters oozed. Perhaps it was both. Either way, Natalia could never carry herself as perfectly as the skaters and ballerinas did. In fact, Natalia envied the young man next to her. She knew he was a skater the moment she laid eyes on him. His polite arrogance and physique giving him away.  
The man smirked at Natalia, “I suppose I can’t blame you but, didn’t your parents ever tell you that staring is rude?”  
Her brown eyes enlarged slightly, “Ah sorry. It is just nice to stare at people you don’t know, you know?”  
“Can’t say I do.” The male said with a laugh.  
An awkward smile spread across Natalia’s lips and she looked down at her fingers, toying with them. She was terrible at meeting new people. When she first moved to America she barely spoke to anyone. With her broken english and shyness, she felt to intimidated to speak with others. However, after growing close with a pushy student from France, she found herself at more social outings and somehow her list of friends grew.  
“I was surprised to learn that Yakov had another daughter.” The man said breaking the brief period of silence.  
“Is that so?”  
Natalia could not say she was shocked. Although, her father seemed more open to her musical career choice, she knew that he was not proud of it. She knew all of this already yet her heart still clenched.  
“Are you a skater too then?”   
Natalia shook her head, she felt herself becoming disinterested and decided to change the direction of the conversation, “I never caught your name.”  
“Oh sorry, I’m Roman.” His cheeks flushed slightly and he messily ran his hand through his hair.”  
“Nice to meet you.”  
Roman flashed her a glimmering smile and pushed open the doors to the professional ice rink. A cold air wrapped itself around the two as they stepped inside. Natalia’s ears were greeted with the familiar music of Beethoven’s Fur Elise. On the ice itself was her father who closely monitored another male skater with dark hair. There were several skaters who relaxed on the sidelines gazing intently at the practice. Natalia was amazed by the number of trainees her father had acquired.   
When her siblings and her first started training, Yakov only had two professional figure skaters under his wing. The more wins her father brought home, the more steadily his number of trainees increased over the years. However, her fathers success skyrocketed four years ago, when he became Viktor’s Nikiforov official coach. The pair had brought much pride to the Russian figure skating realm. Although, at the present Yakov’s protege was nowhere to be seen.  
“Wheres Nikiforov?” Natalia asked Roman, taking a seat next to him on a wooden bench.  
“Dunno, he tends to wander a lot.” A smirk graced the mans lips, “Say, you a fan of Viktor’s?”  
Natalia rolled her eyes and tossed her bag to the floor, “Nope.”  
Roman sent her a suspicious look but she was to busy fastening her skates. Natalia grimaced at how they tightly embraced her feet.  
“Thought you didn’t skate.”  
“Used to but not anymore.” Natalia finished tying her laces, “I’m only here today because my dad asked me to come.”  
He nodded. Natalia stood up and walked over to the ice just as the final chimes of Fur Elise resided through the air. Natalia slid on the ice. It had been quite a while since she last stepped on the hard substance, so she was by no means graceful.   
“So you did make it after all.” Yakov said as his stumbling daughter approached him.  
“Yakov who is this?” The dark haired skater eyed the girls body up and down.  
“Ah, this is my youngest daughter Natalia.”   
“I see, I see. Georgi, a pleasure to meet you.” He gave a nod of approval and shook the brunettes hand energetically.   
Natalia shyly returned the greeting, feeling relived when Georgi skated away.   
“You’ve grown.” Yakov patted Natalia on the head, “Though I suppose that is to expected.”  
His daughter leaned slightly into his touch, she had missed him.  
“I’m sorry that I was not there to greet you last night.” He said taking his hands away, his expression remaining stoic. The corners of Natalia’s lips pulled up. The man was terrible at expressing any other emotions besides anger and confidence.   
“So why is it you wanted me to come here today?” Natalia asked leaning up against the wall.  
“I want you to compose a piece.”  
Natalia raised her brow, her curiosity peaked, “What for?”  
“After the Russian nationals the season is coming to an end. I would like you to create the music for a program I intend on using next season.”  
The brunette nodded. The fact that her father asked her to compose a piece meant that he had some faith in her abilities but, she felt skeptical. Natalia could not simply pull a musical piece out of thin air, she needed inspiration. If she was going to compose something she wanted it to be spectacular. A piece that embodied both the skaters passion and her own.  
“I’ll think about it.”  
This time it was her fathers turn to raise a brow. He never liked receiving indirect answers, “How can I convince you?”  “I want to see the skater, for whom this is for perform. Only then will I make a decision.”  
“You’re in luck then.” Yakov smiled, “He is coming onto the ice now.”  
Natalia lifted her head, her eyes immediately entranced by the notorious silver haired figure skater, Viktor Nikiforov.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe I keep teasing you but we will officially meet Viktor soon.


End file.
